Juggling quarterbacks usually is problematic, but Duke coach David Cutcliffe, an acclaimed teacher of the position, is making it work this season.

Last week’s 35-22 victory at Virginia was among the best examples. Starter Anthony Boone passed for 245 yards and a touchdown, while backup Brandon Connette rushed for a 6-yard score and completed his only pass.

That completion was a game-changer. On a fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter, Connette faked a handoff and flipped a short pass to tight end Braxton Deaver, who raced 47 yards for the touchdown that gave the Blue Devils (5-2, 1-2 ACC) their first lead.

Both quarterbacks are redshirt juniors and both have overcome injuries this season, Boone a broken collarbone that sidelined him for three games, Connette a sprained ankle that benched him for one. Each figures to play Saturday at 16th-ranked Virginia Tech (6-1, 3-0) as situations dictate.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Connette has served mostly as a short-yardage runner. He rushed for eight touchdowns in 2010 as a freshman and again last season — he redshirted in 2011 with a shoulder injury — and leads the team with seven this year.

Connette is also a capable receiver on gadget plays — he caught a touchdown pass last season against Memphis — and as he showed when Boone was out, Connette can throw as well.

Connette passed for 323 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 101 and a score, in a 58-55 loss to Pittsburgh. His four interceptions, one of which the Panthers returned for a touchdown, were decisive. The following week against Troy, Connette threw for 324 yards and three scores with only one pick in a 38-31 victory.

“The way I see it, they got a good one in there either way they go,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said of Duke’s quarterbacks. “Connette, I think he's got excellent toughness, big old guy. But Boone is the same way. My response would be either way they go, they got a good quarterback in the game.”

Beamer juggled Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon at quarterback in 2007 and ’08, winning 21-of-28 games. Virginia’s success was far more fleeting with Michael Rocco and David Watford in 2011, Rocco and Phillip Sims in 2012. North Carolina’s Bryn Renner and Marquise Williams divided series in Thursday’s loss to Miami.

It’s certainly not easy, as offensive personnel adjusts to the cadences and styles of each quarterback. But Cutcliffe, who tutored Peyton and Eli Manning, takes the wisest path by spotting Connette for specific plays rather than entire possessions.

Regardless of how Cutcliffe deploys Boone and Connette, Saturday figures to be Duke’s sternest challenge to date -- Virginia Tech shares the national lead with Clemson in sacks (27) and ranks fifth in scoring defense (15 points per game). Conversely, the Devils have allowed only nine sacks in seven games.

“We have two very experienced players,” Cutcliffe said of his quarterbacks. “Brandon is an experienced player so we can change the package, whether it’s red zone, short yardage, or on any other third-down situation. It may look like we’re running the same play, but we’re not. We’re changing blocking schemes, we’re giving him different reads, different circumstances, so it’s really fun in that regard.

“We have stuff where we can throw the ball to Anthony. It’s fun for the players, it’s energizing and we’re trying to use what we think are the best 11 [players] that we can put on the field. If [redshirt freshman] Thomas Sirk [Achilles] were healthy, we’d probably have three out there.”

Here's an excellent profile of Cutcliffe the New York Daily News published last month prior to the Broncos-Giants NFL game that pitted the Manning brothers against one another.

I can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. Follow me at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP